Article ID: ISIJINT-2019-153
The effects of fine precipitates on the austenite grain refinement of micro-alloyed steel during cyclic heat treatment were investigated under different solution treatments. After three rounds of cyclic heat treatment of Ac3 and Ar3 transformations of the as-received steel rod with rapid heating and cooling, the austenite grain size was 3–10 μm. On the other hand, three rounds of cyclic heat treatment after solution treatment at 1300°C reduced the austenite grain size to 2–5 μm. The as-received sample included AlN–Ti(C,N)–MnS composite particles with a mean diameter of 30 nm and a number density of 11 μm-3, and the mean diameter did not change during cyclic heat treatment. Thus, it was considered that the reduction in austenite grain size without solution treatment was caused by the increase in the nucleation site of austenite phase with increasing number of cycles, due to the refinement of the prior austenite grains with martensitic structure during the cyclic heat treatment. When solution-treated at 1300°C, the AlN–Ti(C,N)–MnS composite particles were solved, and they were precipitated during the cyclic heat treatment with a mean diameter of 12 nm and an increased number density of 85 μm-3. Thus, it was considered that the further reduction in austenite grain size with solution treatment was caused by the pinning effect of the fine precipitates, in addition to the increase in the number of austenite phase nucleation sites with increasing number of heat treatment cycles.
